Archive: Sep 2013

Well, it’s been over two weeks since we landed here on our nearly three hour delayed flight on a beautiful Friday the 13th. We were jet-lagged and seriously questioning if nine bags and two cats was a wise decision, but as we entered the ancient city walls from the south, passing the ancient baths, the forum, the Monumento Nazionale, and the flipping Colosseum in the distance, we were awake! All of our scrambling to get everything in order state-side for the past three months was over, and now what was once an abstract possibility four months ago, is our new reality. We are living in Rome! We mentally high-fived , our mission was accomplished, we did it, we were actually making this happen. (Then we got to our temporary lodging and passed out.)

I am thrilled to report that most of the good things you hear about living in Italy are true. The food is so good I could make this entire blog just about the pasta, pizza, cheese, wine, produce, gelato, gnocchi, etc, and have more than enough to talk about. The city is so beautiful and full of so much charm, even with the graffiti, that sometimes the grandeur forces you pause and gawk at whatever ancient marvel is before you and remind yourself how amazing it is that we have the privilege to make this our home. The language, though at times frustrating, is beautiful, and we are starting to pick it up, piece by piece. And the weather, wow, in September, what can I say? Highs of around seventy-eight, breezy, clear skies, it’s beautiful!

Though everything still has that vacation feel, not everything has been Le Dolce Vita. We’ve spent probably the first solid week and a half getting a lot of our paperwork done. Our hasty decision to put learning Italian on the back-burner until we got here may have been ill-advised. And housing has been a truly humbling experience, of course, the Dungeon (temporary lodging) deserves a post of its own, but I won’t go there.

Almost every window in the Dungeon (not the real name) looks like this. And no, it’s not twilight, that picture was taken around noon, at its brightest.

We’re moving out of the Dungeon tomorrow, which we are beyond thrilled about. Our new place has light, transparent windows, and a bathroom window that doesn’t open onto the building’s public laundry room. But to be fair, its clean, in the same neighborhood we are moving to, and was available when we needed it. Just not very homey, more institutional.

I don’t want to make it sound like we haven’t been out though. Here is a sample of what we’ve been up to:

I’m going to post individually about all of this stuff and more so stay tuned.

I’m sitting in our hotel room trying to get a glimpse of our last Virginia sunset for the next two years (or at least I’m trying…you win clouds!).

A lot of change has happened in the last few months. We’ve left our home, shipped and stored our belongings, re-arranged working conditions, gotten visas, updated and/or canceled everything that has to do with our American lives, and spending the end of each day saying,”Wow, we’re moving to Rome…for two years!”

There are a lot of things I’m going to miss about US. The English language being a big one along with convenient parking, Target, and the series finale of Breaking Bad… (If you find out what happens to Walt before I do, and you probably will, don’t tell me!) to name a few. On the other hand there are also things I will not miss, like the nation’s worst traffic, getting up at 5:30am, and the general rush that we all seem to be in.

What do I think Italy holds for us in the next two years? I’m not exactly sure. I’ve been before, seeing everything through hurried tourist goggles, now I want to take everything in and appreciate being immersed in one of the most celebrated cultures in the world.

What I do know is that not everyone gets this opportunity and we are incredibly fortunate to have this chance. My hope is we become better people for it, and with a little more perspective on what is really important in life.

Internet might be a little touchy for the next few weeks, so this may be the last post for a while. However, I plan to be armed with my new DSLR so I will catch you up on all the missed details…the good, the bad, and the ugly.

100 weeks? Not exactly. If I were being exact i would call the website 104 weeks in Rome. But I like round numbers, and we are definitely not spending every single week in Rome.

Our goal is to see as much as possible of Italy and all its nearby destinations while we’re there. In future posts, expect to see pictures, videos, and commentary on our various stumblings throughout the European continent, and hopefully one or two others as well.